7 Best Clubs in Gainesville [Update 2024]

Are you looking for the best clubs in Gainesville? Wondering where to go for a night out, with great music and a lively atmosphere? Look no further, as we have a list of recommendations for you. Gainesville, Florida, offers a vibrant nightlife scene with a variety of bars and clubs to choose from. Whether you’re a student at the University of Florida or a local resident, there are plenty of options to suit your taste.

Gainesville is known for its thriving music scene, and there are several clubs that cater to different genres. If you’re into live music, head over to High Dive on SW 2nd Ave. This popular venue showcases local and national bands, offering a mix of rock, indie, and alternative music. With its intimate setting and energetic crowd, High Dive is a must-visit for music enthusiasts.

For those who prefer a more upscale experience, check out the best bars in downtown Gainesville. One of the top spots is Sidecar, located on SW 4th Ave. This chic and stylish bar offers handcrafted cocktails and a sophisticated atmosphere. With its sleek decor and attentive staff, Sidecar provides a perfect setting for a night of socializing and indulgence.

If dancing is your thing, then clubs like Simon’s, on SW 13th St, will cater to your needs. With its spacious dance floor and top-notch DJ lineup, Simon’s guarantees a fun and energetic night out. Get ready to groove to the latest hits and dance the night away with friends.

No matter what your preference, Gainesville has something for everyone when it comes to nightlife. With its diverse selection of clubs and bars, you’re sure to find the perfect spot for a memorable evening.

So, put on your dancing shoes or grab a drink with friends – the clubs in Gainesville await you. We have a list of recommendations about clubs in Gainesville that will ensure a fantastic night out.

Simons

Simons
Address8 S Main St, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Phone Number+1 352-448-9915
Operating HourMonday: Closed, Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday: Closed, Thursday: Closed, Friday: 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: Closed
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Real Customer Reviews at Simons:


David King04:45 06/02/23
Simon's is LEGENDARY! This historic venue is one of the first electronic music venues in the State of Florida and has played host to the WORLD'S TOP ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCERS and DJs over the years. If you are a fan of underground electronic music, especially House, Tech House, Jungle, Drum and Bass, and Techno, this is the place to go. The vibe is very undergroundish and reminds me of the golden days of the L.A. Underground and Rave scene. If you go here, ALWAYS check to see who is performing. Often you will be blessed with some of the best DJs in the world. I have seen so many amazing DJs over the years Josh Wink, Danny Tenaglia, Green Velvet, Claude VonStroke, LTJ Bukem, Evil Eddie Richards, DJ SS, AK1200, Dieselboy, John Summit, Dillon Francis, Dombresky, Sasha & Digweed, and so many, many more. Honestly, if you are here for the music and want to dance in one of the most legendary nightclubs in Florida, check out Simon's! It's iconic and has had such amazing talent perform there. It is honestly a very magical venue!

Dylan04:33 05/14/23
AMAZING LINEUPS DJ'S PEOPLE FOOD DRINKS BASS SOUNDSYSTEM OUTTA THIS WORLD LIGHT SHOWS AS WELL AS VIDEOS PLAYING AS THE MUSICIANS MIX DANKNESS BASS N HIGH HATS #BREAKZJUNKIES617

KRS 111104:22 05/14/23
This club is legendary. Seen the best rave djs in history here. Soo many memories ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Kate08:22 12/17/22
I wish I could have given this place a better review but unfortunately my friends and I did not have a good experience at this place. We waited almost 30 mins to get in, watching multiple groups of people get to pass us even though they had just arrive and go in and finally when it came to our group of 4, the bouncer said "I can only let you two in, my girl friend and I... but I responded "I am paying the 4 of us covers." Then finally the bouncer let us in whe. I told him I was paying. It just was unfortunate that we watches multiple groups pass before we were taken care of.

Blaxkboymeetsworld05:33 07/24/22
Extremely racist staff equals an extremely racist experience.My friend is here for a summer Languge program and I came to visit her. We were three people and went to the front of the line around 1 am. They tried to charge up 20 dollars each, because they assumed none of us went to college, and then tried to charge us 30 for the 3 of us.They then closes 5 minutes later and I went to confront the white bouncer about why he didn’t tell us about that and he tried to fight me.I will never have proof about why I know he is racist but he made sure to let everyone else but us know that it wasn’t worth it, because I stayed near to listen to what he told them.
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Gold Room

Gold Room
Address11 SW 1 St, Gainesville, FL 32607, USA
Phone Number+1 352-745-4855
Operating HourMonday: Closed, Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday: Closed, Thursday: Closed, Friday: Closed, Saturday: 11:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: Closed
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Real Customer Reviews at Gold Room:


Bobby C20:07 03/08/21
It took me 10 minutes to walk across this place and the floor was caked in grime. The music was the loudest I've ever heard in my life, and the cigarettes are noxious.

Wilson Carlstedt01:31 02/20/20
So I think it's safe to say that this club isn't my scene. 90% of the music is super deep trap that's not really conducive for dancing and so loud and bass-heavy the floor shakes. There's a comfortably loud level for a club but this isn't it. People also smoke weed everywhere in the club, which means you'll probably leave smelling like smoke. Finally, they seem to make the like way longer than it needs to be by making people wait minutes at a time to get in even when there's only 40-50 people in the club. Overall, I wouldn't reccomend this place to anyone and nominate it as prime real estate for reviving any shuttered club.

Rebeca Ruiz04:26 07/14/19
Worst club I’ve ever been to: no ac, smells of sweat and weed, rude af staff, and supper young college crowd. People practically doing it on the dance floor! I can’t even ever again!

Alex G02:23 03/14/19
Honesty not as hype as I thought it would be. I went there and just overall it invites really trashy people. Super long waits and people are skipping 24/7! I feel like they should get someone to enforce people to not skip. Don’t bother calling out people who are skipping unless you want to get into a physical fight because they are those types of people.

Jake Bell05:04 03/03/19
Embarrassing, over priced and rude. The club was dead. Please don’t go here
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The Venue

The Venue
Address233 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Phone Number+1 904-476-9719
Operating HourMonday: Closed, Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday: Closed, Thursday: Closed, Friday: 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: Closed
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Real Customer Reviews at The Venue:


Mrs, Watson18:32 11/01/22
Boredom

Esther Su-218:25 01/09/19
This place is out of bussiness
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University Club

University Club
Address18 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Phone Number+1 352-378-6814
Operating HourMonday: 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM, Tuesday: 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM, Wednesday: 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Thursday: 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Friday: 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 9:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM
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Real Customer Reviews at University Club:


Brandon (B.R.)14:16 08/01/23
I do really enjoy this place & wish I could give it a higher rating. But sadly there are many reasons as of why I can't. The service is chopping some nights due to two or fewer people working the bar. The front entry is blocked off and you're told to walk around the back to get into the bar. And the other all lack of security on duty some nights, makes it feel very unsafe. Plus the club is always too warm (unless you're upstairs). Otherwise the few good things are the shows, the friendly nature of some of the workers and guests.

Jacob Carlin17:28 07/03/23
They need to staff the bar better. On Sunday nights it is impossible to get served. There's one guy who is scrambling to serve everyone, which makes him cranky and upset, and makes me not want to order anything. Kind of counter intuitive for a bar. I have often waited for 10 minutes or even 20 before giving up.

Erin Stuckey18:10 04/23/23
Been going to UC for years, never had a problem until last night. The doorman has always been a little hostile but last night he disparaged my friend and refused to let her in because she had just turned 21 and waited until right after midnight so she could get a green band. He claimed that she had clearly been drinking (she hadn’t) before midnight. After taking all of our money to get in, he refused her entry and we all left without getting our money back. Weird power trip and honestly the place is overrated, same music every week and the drag show goes on for too long when people just want to dance. Security also poorly manages the crowds and has a cliquey vibe and lets people they know do whatever they want even when they’re causing issues, but people who aren’t causing a problem get kicked out.

Cecil Ryans07:41 04/16/23
I am so startled! Me and my girls were waiting in line to go into the UC when we heard the bouncer call a boy in front of us the f-slur! We were so shocked!!! The poor guy started bawling it was so sad he didn't deserve it. The bouncer was literally slandering him for being LGBTQIA+ which surprised us because we thought it was a gay bar and safe space but clearly we were WRONG! Please avoid this place like the PLAGUE the owner is a secret homophobe!

Cameron White22:26 12/21/22
I'm a crossdresser and I come here all the time since it's one of the few places where I feel completely comfortable being myself.The drinks are cheap, the service is generally fast, and the queens are sassy! 👑💃I've met plenty of really interesting people here and I've never had problems finding someone to dance with. The couple of times I've had issues with creepy guys, other people have always made sure I was okay.Love this place and recommend it to anyone looking for a LGBT friendly bar/club!
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Coconut Cabaret

Coconut Cabaret
Address4401 NW 6th St, Gainesville, FL 32609, USA
Phone Number+1 352-329-0543
Operating HourMonday: Closed, Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Thursday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Friday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM
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Real Customer Reviews at Coconut Cabaret:


Anton Soloshenko06:05 08/05/23
I had a good time here and I will definitely be back! I just wish they had partial/full nudity but I understand the rules with having the liquor license.

Ray Baum18:13 03/19/23
Do not even waste your time. This is the worst place i've ever been to

Sweetie Tweet06:32 09/01/22
How in the world did this place get raided when they just opened up? Did management not tell any of the dancers the rules? Sounds like a dangerous place work if they’re not laying down the rules.

Bel 7703:51 11/06/21
It was terrible. The girls i thought the girls were suppose interact wit u. They didnt all they did was they dance on the pole for a song or two. Then they go right back to being on there phones. The skinny light skin chick stayed on her phone the whole time. I'm never going back 0 stars

Jewel Mitchell07:16 08/24/21
I Really enjoy the variety of liquors, an the women are just great Company sweet pole skills (: has cool strobe lighting an a nice section for smokers! Quite clean too if I might add .. will be returning shortly with some friends
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Downtown Fats

Downtown Fats
Address112 S Main St, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Phone Number
Operating HourMonday: Closed, Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday: Closed, Thursday: Closed, Friday: 6:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 7:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: Closed
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Real Customer Reviews at Downtown Fats:


Britney Megnath21:40 05/01/23
DTF plays a lot of good remixes and it’s pretty big in there which is nice. But on fridays the line is always really long and unless you go to the skip line you might be waiting there all night which is kind of annoying

Jessica Page01:03 03/26/22
had toilet paper and soap! couldn’t ask for more! i love the graffiti art on the walls of the bathroom. drinks could be better but honestly would recommend to a friend.

Megan O22:44 10/03/20
This place is trying to single handedly ruin Gainesville’s efforts to contain Covid. Shame and hopefully a hurricane of fines on this short-sighted, soon-to-be pariah of a local bar. Really, how dare you?

Christopher15:36 10/03/20
If I could give 0 stars I would. This is the only business in Gainesville that allows hundreds of students in without masks. Covid will never go away because they value profit over human safety. Avoid at all costs!

Taryn07:30 02/17/20
Was here for Fest. Not the same, but still nice.Only rating 3, cuz y’all didn’t let my sis in for 15 min. of comedy show even though willing to pay at door and there was both wristbands and room available. Y’all literally said yes, then no. No bueno.
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Spurred Up Saloon, Karaoke and Billiards

Spurred Up Saloon, Karaoke and Billiards
Address112 SW 1st Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA
Phone Number+1 424-666-9359
Operating HourMonday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Tuesday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Wednesday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Thursday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Friday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Saturday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM, Sunday: 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM
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Real Customer Reviews at Spurred Up Saloon, Karaoke and Billiards:


Gabriel Shapiro01:33 05/02/23
These guys blare music with the doors open and wreck trivia night next door.

Reyhan Hakki21:16 05/19/21
Can’t beat $1 Wells 8-11pm deals anywhere. Love this place!

lizzy flanary05:47 04/25/21
Great service
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